Share this with

This month’s World Cup will see a host of multi-million pound global icons take to football pitches across Brazil, from Barcelona’s Neymar to Chelsea’s Eden Hazard.

It is set to be possibly the most money-laden World Cup of all time with the likes of Spain striker Fernando Torres and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo costing in excess of £130m between them and contributing to the collective £3,126,400,000 transfer values of players at this summer’s tournament.

But which of the 32 competing nations has the most expensive squad?

Based on the last transfers of each of the 736 players travelling to Brazil, here’s how the numbers stack up.

Perhaps unsurprisingly with Paris Saint-Germain recently agreeing a £50m fee for defender David Luiz, hosts Brazil top the list, with their squad totalling a staggering £407m.

That includes the likes of Thiago Silva – signed by PSG for £34m – Hulk – signed by Zenit St Petersburg for £49m – and Willian – signed by Chelsea for £32m.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Current World Cup holders Spain come in second, with their 23-man squad totalling £315.2m, including the likes of Torres (£50m), Juan Mata (£37m) and David Silva (£23m).

Cristiano Ronaldo will be the most expensive player at this summer’s World Cup (Picture: AP)

England’s squad adds up to £179.6m, behind Belgium, Portugal, Argentina and France, but just ahead of Germany.

At the other end of the scale are the likes of Honduras, Australia and Iran.

Their lowly positions in the chart could be down to players staying with their boyhood clubs, leaving on free transfers or being involved in swap deals.

But whether the squad values end up reflecting the success of individual nations over the next month remains to be seen.